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04/09/2026

🔥Do your burning cannabis questions match ours?

🎧Listen to episode 5: Current research on cannabis - where it harms, where it helps

📱Wherever you get your podcasts

✨Listen to past episodes via the link in the comments✨

04/09/2026

💉 GLP-1 RA weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic or Mounjaro, can help manage sleep apnoea when the condition is caused by obesity, according to an international review. The researchers say up to 70% of sleep apnoea patients have obesity, so they reviewed research into the potential impacts of GLP-1s on the condition. The researchers say while they're not as effective as a CPAP machine, current research shows taking a GLP-1 is linked to a reduction in sleep apnoea symptoms, with up to half of patients experiencing remission. The researchers say these results are primarily driven by weight lost on the drugs, so patients whose sleep apnoea is not weight-related are unlikely to see the same benefits.

✨Follow the link in the comments for more information on this story✨

03/09/2026

🌡️ With world temperatures soon to rise above the 1.5°C limit pledged in the Paris Agreement, nations need to act quickly to keep the 'overshoot' as small as possible, says a report from the UN Environment Programme. This means accelerating cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and going 'carbon zero' and then 'carbon negative', to get the planet back below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Years of inaction mean that impacts like extreme weather, sea level rise and ecosystem loss are already unavoidable and must be adapted to, the report says. However, returning below 1.5°C as quickly as possible will reduce the risks and enable long-term resilience.

🗨️ UTS: University of Technology Sydney, The Australian National University, UNSW, Curtin University and The University of Melbourne experts respond to the findings.

✨Follow the link in the comments to read the full expert reaction✨

03/09/2026

🍄 Unlike the death cap, Episode 5 of Off Embargo is safe to eat!

🎧 Listen to episode 5 now - wherever you get your podcasts!

✨ Or follow the link in the comments ✨

02/09/2026

👧 Of 2,254 US girls enrolled in a long-term US study and aged nine to ten in 2016-2018, nearly 58% had developed period pain (dysmenorrhoea), with around 20% of those cases severe, by age 12 to 13, according to US scientists. They found girls with painful periods were more likely to have had other physical symptoms, such as nausea and dizziness, or signs of more advanced puberty, such as breast development, body hair, or a growth spurt, at age nine to ten. They found Black and Hispanic girls were more likely to experience period pain than white girls, which may be because of social and cultural factors, including unequal access to health care and stigma around menstruation, and earlier physical development in these girls. The findings suggest that girls likely to develop painful periods could be identified before their periods begin, allowing clinical support, particularly for those facing the greatest health inequalities, the authors conclude.

✨Follow the link in the comments for more information on this story✨

30/08/2026

🍃 We are not the experts on medical ma*****na

👩‍⚕️But we know two doctors who know a lot about it!👨‍⚕️

🎧 Listen to episode 5 now - wherever you get your podcasts!

Written, hosted and produced by Olivia Henry and Steven Mew, Australian Science Media Centre

Made possible through a Science Engagement Grant from Inspiring South Australia

28/08/2026

At least 469 people have been killed by flash flooding at the Nepal–Tibet border, with reports that the flooding was likely caused by a glacier avalanche. Anthony Albanese has said 39 Australians are among the 1400 people missing from the region.

🗨️ Experts from Swinburne University of Technology University of Sydney University of the Sunshine Coast UNSW and La Trobe University respond to the disaster.

✨Follow the link in the comments to read the expert reaction✨

27/08/2026

📱 Following a major trial in the US, Meta has agreed to put new safeguards in place to protect teenagers on their apps. The changes will include default safety restrictions, parental supervision features, time limits and 'school mode', disabling likes and filters for teenagers as well as implementing age verification and protecting against privacy risks. Below, Aussie researchers respond to the announcement.

Experts from UNSW RMIT University University of New England, AU Swinburne University of Technology UTS: University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University University of Sydney Adelaide University have responded to the announcement.

✨Follow the link in the comments to read the expert reaction✨

26/08/2026

🐶 Watching videos of adorable puppies in the office may be an effective way of lowering your blood pressure, according to Korean scientists, who have kindly provided a puppy video to get you started. The team showed 66 people several puppy videos while measuring their blood pressure, variations in blood pressure over time, and pulse rates before and after. They found the puppies brought down people's blood pressure, especially among those who already had high blood pressure. Puppy videos may be a cheap, drug-free and effective way to boost workplace health, the authors conclude.

✨Follow the link in the comments for more information on this story✨

25/08/2026

🤖 Large language models (LLMs) are making writing styles more similar without changing the overall meaning, according to an analysis of more than 880,000 texts across different writing types. The authors suggest that this could make it more difficult to identify important clues about aspects of a person’s identity, personality, and mental health from their language. The team analysed Reddit stories, news articles, academic papers, essays, social media posts, and political speeches over time to see how the rise of widespread LLM usage has changed our writing style. They found evidence of both an immediate shock, where the introduction of ChatGPT coincided with a sharp drop in variability, and a sustained effect, in which higher levels of LLM usage continued to reduce the complexity of language over time. They also analysed writing submitted by people who had completed a questionnaire to determine their personal traits, both before and after it had been edited by large language models, finding that they were less accurate at determining those personal traits using writing that had been edited by AI.

✨Follow the link in the comments for more information on this story✨

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